#Everylinecounts

#Everylinecounts is a campaign which whether intentional of not, tries to move the accountability of impact of drugs legislation away from the government and on to drugs users. Are we seriously suggesting to approach the complex cause and effects of the drugs trade with an the carefree Tesco-like attitude of ‘every little bit helps’?

I can see that the National Crime Agencies’s (NCA) heart is in the right place but relying on the morality of drug dealers and recreational users to solve the issue, doesn't really doesn't speak volumes about the morality of our own government. NCA is a department in government by the way. To me this campaign appears to be a lazy shifting of blame tarted up with a hashtag.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that they are exposing the negative effects of how cocaine is made with this animation. Awareness is always a benefit but it’s there suggested solution that riles me. It’s as though they are treating it like a Nestle boycott

The NCA states that “Each pound spent to buy drugs in the UK is money which will be used to buy firearms, which will kill policemen and women as well as other victims linked to drug trafficking.” And this is very true, the drug trade is illegal, high risk and obviously attracts people who don’t have any issues with breaking the law

It’s not the product that these cartel are so obsessed about — it’s the money and it’s if not drugs it could be arms, people it could be anything. It’s about having a product that is in demand and isn’t legal. Things which are illegal people pay a premium for, a premium that isn’t taxable meaning large profits. High risks but big pays out are a risk that thousands of people living poverty are willing to take.

What I can’t ignore about cocaine is that it is extremely high value. At present cocaine is at the center of a global drug trade worth an estimated $352 billion dollars. The drugs trade brings in an estimated $25–40 billion Mexico’s economy per year. This is big money and the sort of money that pays of politicians, police whoever you want. It’s gone so much bigger that the product itself, it’s part of a criminal economy.

When faced with a problem this big and cancerous you can’t rely on a handful of recreational drug users to make a difference. The government is the only body with enough muscle to tackle this issue, so I find it disheartening when NCA has no other solution then a boycott from users, because it’s no a real solution at all.